Student on Shattering Stereotypes of Profession

AshtabulaGuy writes “Cynthia Wilson, a Master of Science in Library Science candidate in Clarion University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Library Science is working on a book in hopes of shattering some stereotypes about librarian image. The work-in-progress, entitled I Am A Librarian, for which Wilson is seeking project participants can be learned about more here.”

May 12, 2004 by Blake Uncategorized 10

Fang-Face says:

May 12, 2004 at 4:37 pm

Interesting study
What? No link to the part of Jessamyn’s site on naked librarians?

Stereotypes are not always bad things. A stereotype is a tool, and can be used to create a positive image as much as a negative image, and as with any tool, any failure in its use depends entirely on the person using it.

The Things They Say Behind Your Back: Stereotypes and the Myths Behind Them

William B Helmreich -1982

ISBN 0-385-15606-5

Dewey # 305.8 H481

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nbruce says:

May 12, 2004 at 10:40 pm

The premise–pretty librarians?
Sort of a silly idea. I looked at her web site. Is a “good” librarian stylish, attractive, youthful and slim? Hardly. A good librarian has a nose for information and a heart for people.

Many of the outstanding librarians I met in 35+ years of my profession were the salt of the earth and the essence of stereotype (not all at once)–overweight, sloppy, flambouyantly gay or closeted lesbian, fashion-challenged, rail thin, 70% female, bald, myopic or near-sighted, and introverted. In 35 years I met one librarian who was drop dead gorgeous, and maybe 10 who were extremely attractive. And by the way, no one ever expressed surprise when I revealed my profession, but were surprised to find out I needed a degree to be one. I’ll give her that one.

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p-man says:

May 13, 2004 at 12:14 am

Re:The premise–pretty librarians?
I married a librarian who is drop-dead gorgeous. I’ve seen plenty who are extremely attractive as well. You must not get out too much. And many of these are dang good librarians.

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nbruce says:

May 13, 2004 at 4:17 am

Re:The premise–pretty librarians?
I’ve been to enough professional conferences to be able to spot a gaggle of librarians at an airport from 100 yards. And I’ve seen thousands of librarians. Maybe even your spouse.

No one said a pretty/handsome librarian couldn’t be a good librarian. But good looks definitely don’t qualify one to be a good librarian, or a good anything else for that matter. A book on the topic with photos is just another put-down of the profession.

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p-man says:

May 13, 2004 at 6:20 am

Re:The premise–pretty librarians?
I’m sure you were engaging in hyperbole when you stated your numbers. And you’re right that good looks don’t mean someone is good at anything else. Perhaps the better looking librarians don’t travel in gaggles. I, for one, am pretty much a lone wolf when I go to conferences. I don’t think I get pegged as a librarian very often; I’m more often told I look like a much thinner version of former pro wrassler Mick Foley.

I don’t care if anyone has preconceived notions about what librarians look like. I do care when we aren’t paid what we’re worth. I’m not convinced a book of pretty librarians would bring that about. But I don’t see it as a put-down either. If I were teaching in an LIS department I don’t think such a work would be a good use of a student’s time when they should be learning the basics of librarianship.

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AshtabulaGuy says:

May 13, 2004 at 6:57 am

Re:The premise–pretty librarians?
As far as I am aware, it is on the student’s own time and is not part of their studies whatsoever.

LIS Students actually apparently did present some things at an internal conference at Clarion. The abstracts start here. It does seem as if the plagiarism case discussed is germinal, though.

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AshtabulaGuy says:

May 13, 2004 at 7:00 am

Re:The premise–pretty librarians?
I though that was the point of what was shown from the project. The work apparently is not to highlight “pretty” librarians but to showcase the diversity that is shown in the profession.

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AshtabulaGuy says:

May 13, 2004 at 7:02 am

Re:Interesting study
It seemed to be the case that the item was an attempt to show that there is life beyond wearing one’s hair in a bun. It seemed that the project was a case in which the overall diversity of the profession would be showcased, rather than images typically seen in media.

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p-man says:

May 13, 2004 at 4:00 pm

Re:The premise–pretty librarians?
You have to admire someone who is that dedicated. I was half kidding when I said she should be spending her time learning to be a librarian; I found library school valuable but not terribly time consuming. I’m sure the book will be interesting; it would be nice if it had an audience beyond other librarians. Also, I should have spent more time examining the article and less just responding to the post about librarians tending to be less than gorgeous.

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Queen ILS says:

May 16, 2004 at 9:48 pm

Stereotype of librarians
The time of the “shusher”, hair in a bun, glasses on a chain around the neck, orthopedic shoes, and usually a woman librarian are gone. With the advent of technology, verbal communication is the key in helping patrons obtain information. It is still using the old question and answer method to find what information is needed by the patron but the types and mode of information gathering has changed. Soft music, varied seating arrangements, etc. are more conducive in getting patrons in and helping them get the information needed….sometimes even from the comforts of their home.

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